After each and every draft, analysts and prognosticators analyze not just the talent which has been infused into each organization, they also project which players are going to contribute at the Major League level. After the 2018 draft, Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline projected the Mets fifth round draft pick to be one of the players who could be the first 2018 draftee to make the Major Leagues.
Clemson reliever Ryley Gilliam was seen as one of the most Major League ready prospects in the draft. In his analysis, Callis noted Gilliam had a deceptive delivery and worked fast. He also liked his fastball/curveball combination saying Gilliam was a, “small guy with a quick arm that produces one of the better curveballs in this Draft, not to mention 91-96 mph fastballs.”
To the surprise of many, Gilliam was assigned to Brooklyn after he signed. Typically, the New York-Penn League is not where you start players who you want to fast track to the Majors. While the assignment was a bit of a surprise, Gilliam’s production wasn’t. In 17 appearances, he would strike out 31 batters in 17.1 innings pitched. Really, with each and every outing, Gilliam would show just how much better he was than that level of competition.
After seeing him dominate the way he did, Gilliam was quickly being considered to be one of the Mets top prospects. MMN rated him as the Mets 31st best prospect. Baseball America rated him the Mets 28th best prospect. In rating him that high, Baseball America said of Gilliam:
Gilliam combines big stuff with a smaller, 5-foot-10 stature. His 12-to-6 curveball with tight rotation was one of the best breaking pitches in the 2018 draft. He commands his 78-82 mph curve for called strikes and as a chase pitch. Gilliam sits in the mid-90s and bumps 97 mph with a high spin rate that generates swings and misses up in the zone. He throws from a high arm slot and tends to work north and south.
Overall, those who have seen Gilliam pitch have come away as believers in his talent. When you see him pitching for St. Lucie this season, you can understand the hype:
With overpowering stuff like that, Gilliam has been practically unhittable for St. Lucie. So far in six appearances, he has allowed no runs over 10.0 innings pitched. He has struck out 40 percent of the batters he has faced so far this year. Out of the 35 batters he has faced, only four have come away with a base hit, and only one of those was extra bases (a double).
While these stats are very encouraging, what really stands out is his pounding the strike zone. Entering the season both Callis and Baseball America noted the biggest issue for Giliam is his walk rate. Basically, with his unique delivery and to a certain extent his pace, he was prone to fits of wildness.
So far, that has not been the case this year. In fact, Gilliam has walked just one batter this year. That and his striking out 12.6 batters per nine is largely the result of Gilliam throwing 66.2 percent of his pitches for strikes. Overall, he is showing much better control this year while continuing to strike out batters at a very high clip.
Breaking it all down, Gilliam is as good a young arm as the Mets have in their entire system. He has two very good pitches he is using to overpower hitters in the Florida State League. With him pitching this well, it should be just a matter of time before he is promoted to Double-A Binghamton.
Once that happens, he is really going to be in a position to push his way to the Majors in short order much like how Callis predicted he would.
